Stone Heart
by LoneWolf1432
Summary: There is a beautiful statue of a person in the center of Luna Nova's courtyard, sculpted in 1863. Legend has it that there is a curse placed on it, and when they touch their soulmate they will become human. A perfect Picture and Video opportunity! Although, when Akko touches the statue for a picture, the podium is empty and one confused Diana Cavendish falls right into her arms.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author here, i recently completly updated the story and fixed any plot holes. if you read this story prior, i urge you to reread from here. Ive also fixed some of the major problems like blocky text and not enough space to be able to read who is saying what. A quick rundown,**_

_**All the characters are 19+ and Luna Nova has been turned into a university in the possibility that this were to become mature (Not completly sure yet, but well see how it goes) So, if i were to, for my own sake and sanity, i dont want to write 16 year olds having sex, because me myself would not be comfortable with that. And if this were to become mature, i'd let you know before hand. Any ways, Happy reading all!**_

~1844-1863~

Cavendish. It was a well known name. The family itself was wealthy, loved, and it may as well have been nobility to the English throne. Their influence engulfed Europe, Asia, and even parts of America. Recently, however, their hold in America had been starting to wane due to the current events and America tearing itself apart due to a war. They had torn each other apart. Like barbarians fighting over food, instead of food, they had fought over slaves. England hadn't cared. They stayed neutral, watched from the sidelines. Of course, this was long before Diana was born.

Diana Cavendish. The only daughter of Adam and Bernadette Cavendish, born on the 30th of April in 1844. The only daughter who was doomed before she was born. Before she was even conceived. Cursed to never see the age of Twenty. Turned to stone on her nineteenth birthday, only for it to be broken by the touch of a soulmate. All because of something her paternal grandfather did. As the story goes, he was drunk and angered the wrong woman so she placed a curse on him. The next woman to be born of his lineage would be cursed, turned to stone on her 19th birthday. It had skipped a generation, but then again, no women were born to her grandfather. Seven children. Seven boys. One being her father. Three had died before the age of fourteen due to disease, two in war. That left two boys. One was seven. Her father's youngest brother. So that ruled out who would have the child first.

It was only when Diana was born, that her grandfather had warned her parents of the curse. Of course, the grandfather was superstitious. He didn't believe in the curse, magic, or anything like that. He only believed in money and he was elated when his son had married into one of the wealthiest families in Britain. But he had also caused the family great pain. When he had told them of what he had done, he was cast out, disowned by his eldest son. And the Cavendish's had to clean up his mess.

Diana had grown up, knowing about the curse. They had told her the day she turned ten, old enough to comprehend just how bad it was. Tears were spilled by both her mother and father as the child asked questions and tried to comprehend just how dire the situation was. She wouldn't make it to twenty. And the curse couldn't be broken. Soulmates didn't exist, although her father and mother had both told her differently. People fell in love, but there were never two people destined to be together. And that sunk in as Diana's sixteenth birthday came and went and she fell deeper and deeper into a hole, well, she had dug it deeper.

Her parents had tried to break the curse, using any magic they could. The Cavendish's were a well known family in the witching world, much to her grandfather's skepticism. Magic was very real. And it was very powerful. But when they couldn't break the curse, they looked for suitors. Tried to find their daughter's soulmate. All the men that they tried just hadn't seemed to click with their only daughter. She just hadn't seemed interested. After her eighteenth birthday came, she didn't leave the Cavendish Manor. Her parents tried to get her out in the open, to enjoy the little bit of her life she had left, but she wasn't interested. She didn't want any of the males her parents had brought to her. She wanted to stay to herself, spend the rest of her days reading her books in her room. No many how many suitors her parents brought to her, they were all turned down. None of them clicked. Her parents believed one would have, Andrew Hanbridge.

He was their daughter's closest friend. A childhood friend at that. But when Diana's stone body was found the morning of her nineteenth birthday, a book at her feet, hand outstretched as if she had been holding something, her other arm curled against her body. Her eyes were closed and her robes were flowing behind her, her Luna Nova hat perched on her head. She looked as if she had made peace with her curse in her last moments, her face wearing a small frown and knit eyebrows, a face that was forever still and engraved in stone. And her parents had lost hope when Andrew touched Diana's hand and nothing happened. Their daughter was lost. So, they moved their daughters body into the middle of Luna Nova's College grounds. It was a school she had always wanted to attend. And had. For a couple months. She was put on a stone podium with the engraving, "May the touch of her soul mate free the body of Diana Cavendish. Born April 30, 1844. Petrified April 30, 1863."

~2019~

"Come onnnn~" A loud voice pierces the quiet park, a large smile brightening up the Japanese girl's face. Her red eyes were bright and the Luna Nova uniform she wore was crisp and brand new. Her hair was put up in a half ponytail, some of her hair flowing around her shoulders. Following closely behind the glowing Asian teen was a purple haired girl, slouched over. Her white shirt was covered by a dark blue Luna Nova vest and her face was shadowed by the brim of the witches hat she wore. "I'm coming. I'm coming. Slow down." She mumbles it, her eyes droopy with bags under them. "Why are you dragging me around anyway?" The shorter girl smiles and turns around, walking backwards as she looks at her friend, "I wanted to look around! It's almost break and we haven't even seen the Cavendish Statue. It's the best part of the academy! There's so much-"

''I don't care. Forget I even asked."

The cheery girls smile falters, her ruby eyes roam the courtyard landing on a grey mass before her smile comes back twice as big. "OH! Look!" She points towards the statue and all but sprints towards it. It was halfway across the yard and her school boots did not want to comply with the wet soil and grass. She was all but sinking deeper with every step she took. When her clogs finally meet concrete she stands with her hands on her knees, her chest only slightly heaving, "Awe, my boots are ruined..." The sides were covered in mud, the lumps sticking.

"That's what you get when you run through wet soil when there's a perfectly good path, Akko." A flat voice comes up behind Akko, the girls pale red eyes looking at the shorter girl.

"But that would have taken longer!" She pouts and looks up at her friend as she stands up straight, "Besides, look!" She points to the marble statue, her eyes finally getting a good look at it up close, and her jaw drops. She hadn't seen anything this beautiful.

If the statue hadn't been on the podium, it would only be a handful of centimeters taller than the girl. Akko finally closes her jaw, gazing at the statue. This was the same one Chariot had taken a picture with. At the same school her idol attended. And the picture that was taken all those years ago did not give justice to the statue. Every crevice seemed to be perfectly sculpted, like a God itself had come down and made a statue of the most beautiful woman it could think of. Or as if plaster was poured directly onto a human. It was so detailed. Every eyelash, every strand of hair seemed to be sculpted perfectly. The statue's hair was curled partly over one shoulder, the rest cascading down her back. She wore an old Luna Nova robe, one that seemed to be from the school's olden days and a Luna nova hat that was similar to the one her friend was wearing.

"You know, if this was a real chick she'd be creeped out by your gawking." Susy looked over at the amazed girl. She had become quiet and it honestly scared her. Akko was always bubbly, always had something to say, and always annoying.

"I-but i- I wasn't-" Akko sputters, a blush creeping up her neck while she was looking at her taller friend. "I can't appreciate art!?" Sucy smirks, a quiet 'tsk' coming from her as she looks at Akko, "You can, but you're doing more than appreciating it."

Akko again sputters before she takes out her phone and pulls up the camera, hiding her face behind it as she takes a picture of the statue. Something was missing. "Hey, Susy. Take my picture with the statue!" The pale teen raises her eyebrow as she looks at her friend, "Why do you want a photo with this musty statue?"

Sucy points to said stone statue as she looks back at Akko. The shorter girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet, the caked mud on her shoes cracking at the movement, "Because!" Akko pushes her phone into Sucy's hands as she puts her hand on her chest, "There's a photo of Chariot holding this statue's hand. I want one too!" Her eyes light up as she drops her hand. She gazes at the statue again and reads the inscription. The words bore into her mind and she lightly bites at her lip, "Also, there's some curse or something on it." Of course the thought of breaking a curse, no matter how slim the chance, was riveting to the young adult.

"If I agree to take the picture you have to be my Guinea pig for a week." Sucy's voice is flat and leaves no room for argument as Akko enthusiastically nods. As much as she didn't like being the taller woman's test subject, she wouldn't be able to take the picture herself, "Okay! Deal!" She runs up beside the statue and smiles at it. It really was a stunning piece of artwork. "You ready?" Akko asks as she sits on a wall that was near the sculpture. It was the perfect height for the short girl to get up on and sit. "Ready when you are. Say cheese." Sucy's dull voice trails the last word and Akko tentatively reaches for the statue's hand. Akko holds up a peace sign, "Cheese!" And as soon as her hand touches the statue's hand, something changes.

The hand isn't hard, not like stone. It was almost sort of… fleshy? Akko looks at the hand and it isn't stone anymore, no. It's pale flesh that is seemingly taking over the stone at a rapid pace and it makes Akko jump off the wall, her feet hitting the concrete below. And as cerulean eyes are uncovered the statue stumbles and falls over towards Akko, the wall behind the Japanese girl helping her keep her balance as a beautiful woman around her age tumbles into her arms. Ocean blue meets fire red and Akko's face once again heats up. "Uh… hi…"

"Akko, What did you do?!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Akko, what did you do?!"

Sucy nearly drops the phone in her surprise at watching her friend catch the girl who once was a statue. Akko's ears and face were red as she looked down at the blonde who seemed just as confused as the other two witches. Said blonde looks up at whose arms she was in and then down at what she was wearing. "Luna Nova..." It was quiet, just above a whisper.

"Are you okay?" Akko helps the taller girl get her bearings and stand up, some of the dried mud on her shoes flaking off, "You aren't hurt are you? I tried not to hurt you." She takes a step towards the now unfrozen girl. Diana holds up her hand, making the brunette stop in her tracks, "W-Where am I?" Her posh accent is quiet as she looks around the schools square. Everything seemed the same. Except, the path wasn't loose gravel anymore, it was a grey color.. what was that anyway? It was solid and she wasn't sinking. And the trees... they seemed larger than the last time she was here. As if they had a hundred years added to them. But that didn't make sense. The last thing she remembered she was in her room. And then there was nothing. She couldn't remember anything after that. How did she wind up falling off of a...? She looks to where she was. "A sculpture podium... The curse." It was a whisper. Then it clicked.

"Who are you?" She looks at the strange girl who had caught her. Akko was wearing a Luna Nova uniform but it seemed newer. Different than the dress and robe that she was wearing. But it was obviously Luna Nova, if the Crest on the belts that both the girls were wearing was any indication.

"I-I know you're probably shaken, and confused and-" Blue eyes meet red and Akko's mouth shuts, "Who was the one that broke the curse? This shouldn't be possible... maybe it had a time limit? No, that's not right.." Diana's quiet rambling was cut short by Akko, "I did." The blondes mouth hangs open. That wasn't right. Soulmates didnt exist.. and it shouldn't be a woman who did so, at the very least. "I- I beg your pardon?" Her eyes narrow as she looks at Akko, "And who exactly are you?" The blonde's voice was harsh as she attempted to comprehend that she was just… unfrozen.

Sucy lets out a quiet snicker as she listens to the conversation, playing on Akko's phone and looking through it. She soon got bored and just held it limply beside her in her hand, opting to watch the exchange between the 'Soulmates', a bored expression on her face.

The brunette's face lights up, a large smile spreading across her face, "I'm Atsuko Kagari! But my friends call me Akko! And I'm going to be the best witch Luna Nova has ever had!"

Diana keeps her face impassive, her arms crossing against her chest. This girl was childish. Too ambitious, trying to accomplish a dream that would never come true. This didn't make any sense. How had this... child broken the curse? She was too optimistic, too happy. The world would break her. There's a quiet 'tsk and Diana faintly hears the lavender haired girl mumble something along the lines of, "You can even ride a broom. 'Best witch' pft."

The blonde girl looks at the two girls in front of her and tries to roll the name across her tongue, "At-ASU- Aks" Diana's face scrunches up as she attempts to pronounce the foreign name. She let out a quiet sigh, "Akko," it was reluctant, but she could see why the ruby eyed teen had an easy to pronounce nickname, "How did /you/ manage to break my curse." It was something her family had tried for years but never succeeded in. Another blush climbs up the Asian's face and she looks away,

"Oh! Y-you. I-" her cheeks puffed out as she tried to make a coherent sentence, "I touched the statue and next thing I know you weren't... stone?" The last word came out as a question as Diana moved closer, looking for any signs of falsehood. But all she found were ruby eyes, sparkling in the setting sun full of truth. Diana was sure this girl hadn't told a lie in her life. "Very well." An exasperated sigh falls from the blonde's lips as she takes a few steps back, putting distance between her and her so-called 'soulmate'.

She sits down on the empty podium and puts her head in her hands, looking down at the ground. "Hey Akko. Take your phone back, there's nothing interesting." A quiet yelp is heard and the sound of someone fumbling. Diana looks up, watching as a rectangular shape is thrown to the oriental female and she catches it, although clumsily. She holds it up in triumph with a wide grin on her face. 'Does she ever stop smiling.' Diana keeps her eyes on the device, jumping as it lights up. "What is that?" The words slip from the blondes mouth before she could register what she had said.

"Oh?" Akko lowers her arm and points at her phone, the smile still over taking her face, "It's a cell phone. It can connect you to anyone around the world, see!" Akko steps towards the wary blonde, said girl leaning back away as the object is all but shoved into her face. "Please, get that.. that /thing/ out of my face." She didn't know what it was, nor how it worked. And there was no way it could connect her to anyone in the world; it was impossible... her eyes land on the clock, the date catching her eye, 'Tuesday, June 25.'

But... June fell on a Monday in 1863, didn't it? She remembers looking through her calendar and marking something in June. And she could distinctly remember it. "What year is it?" Again, it's out of her mouth before she could process, it was rushed. "Uh..." Akko slides the phone into one of the skirts pockets. And it catches her eyes. It was way too high, it was... it was Improper! Her thighs were showing! "Don't you have any modesty?" And "Two thousand nine-teen." Were both out at the same time and Diana's mouth slams shut. That... that couldn't be right... could it? That means she's been petrified over a hundred and fifty years.

Diana again puts her head in her hands, her eyes widening as she stares down. Her family... her friends... her parents... everyone. They were... gone. Dead. She would never see them again. That... that couldn't be. She's lost everything... everything she worked for and everything she loved. And she could feel tears pricking at her eyes. She stands and wipes her face, looking at the two "Please... excuse me. I- I have to go." And with that, the blonde quickly turns and runs towards the school, not caring that it wasnt lady-like. Not caring about the calls behind her.

"Wait! Diana!" Akko calls for the blonde but she was gone, all but disappearing behind the trees, "Way to go Akko. You made her run away. Dont you know you're not supposed to blurt out the year to someone who's been gone for a hundred and fifty six of them?" Akko's smile drops as she looks at the ground, that probably wasn't her finest moment, "But hey, look at that, your soulmate is a total bitch." Sucy let's a large, sharp toothed grin lit her face, "Let's just be happy you had gawked at her before she woke up, I'm sure you wouldn't have a head if she caught you ogling her." Akko opens her mouth to protest, but only starts to walk in the direction where Diana had gone, "Where are you going?!" Sucy calls out to Akko, the brunette not stopping.

"To go apologize!" She doesn't turn, only keeps walking. Where could that British girl have gone?

Sucy mumbles a quiet 'whatever' and stays at the statue. It probably wasn't a good idea, because soon students were swarming it, shocked and surprised that the statue was gone. First it was the blue team, two girls. One with red hair pulled back into a ponytail and grey eyes, Hannah England. And the other with loose black locks and real eyes, Barbara Parker. They were the only team with two instead of three, and they were also the most arrogant, insufferable-

"Oh my gosh!" Sucy winces as she's pulled out of her inner musings at the shrill voice of Barbara and she takes a step back, "Where's the statue?" The black haired girl asks her friend and the redhead shrugs. Next, the green team were flocking around the statue, along with the last member of Sucy's and Akko's team.

The last member of the red team, Lotte, was a short, orange hair girl with blue eyes and large, round glasses. She also had a knack for talking to spirits.

A tall, pink haired female with a bag of crisps was happily munching away as she walked behind Lotte and looked where the statue once was, this heavy eater was Jasminka Antoneko . A shorter, black haired girl with a small robot on her shoulder peeks out from behind the large girl. This girl was Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger. A big name for such a little girl, and she had an even bigger brain. And then there was Amanda. This bitch. Amanda was tall, but not as tall as her pink haired friend. The redheaded American had a knack for getting into trouble. She was foul mouthed, brash and-

"Someone stole the damn Statue?! How the hell did they pick up a three hundred pound slab of marble?" The Americans' hands here folded behind her head as she looked at the now empty podium.

"Better yet, where would they put it? It was here thirty minutes ago and now its gone." Lotte pushes up her spectacles, looking to the American. Next was Constanze, Writing on a pad and pointing to the empty podium. She faces the pad towards everyone it read; "Did anyone think to read the inscription. The curse was probably broken."

Amanda lets out a snicker, rolling her eyes as she looks around. She could see a place she violated with a very, very, improper word. "Who could possibly be that chick's soulmate? She's been dead over A hundred and fifty years. they're probably dead by now. I still think someone stole-" she's cut off by a frantic Akko rushing up to her and her friends.

Sucy walks slowly behind Akko, coming out from where she was hiding in the shadows "Uhhh, hi guys!" Akko waves awkwardly at her friends, "Have you seen a girl about this tall," she reaches above her head to show approximately how tall Diana is, it was only about three or four inches, "Blonde hair with green undertones, blue eyes, wearing an old timey robe and Luna Nova hat?" Akko steps from one foot to the other, anxiously awaiting an answer. The orange haired, red team member raises her eyebrow and hesitantly asks the taller brunette, "...Akko... what did you do...?"

Akko's face turned a deep shade of red and she held out her hands, shaking them and her head. "Pfft. What? Me? Nothing! I didn't do anything!" Her hands drop and she quickly shoves them behind her back, putting a nervous innocent smile on her face, not noticing Sucy's hand snaking into her pocket and grabbing her phone, opening up the unlocked screen..

"Oh, so you didn't just touch the statue, Have the Diana Cavendish fall into your arms, and have said girl storm off? Huh, I must be seeing things. And so must the camera." Sucy holds Akko's phone up for everyone to see, a video playing. On screen, a blob of blonde hair falls, the person landing into the arms of a flustered Akko. The video cuts off when Sucy nearly shouts, "Akko, what did you do?!" Seven pairs of eyes turned to look at a now flushed Akko when the video clicks off, as if she had stolen the last cookie in the cookie jar,.

"You?! You broke the curse?!" Five (Minus one because even though she was surprised, Cons still decided not to talk) voices ring out at once and Akko winces, looking down with a solemn nod.


	3. Chapter 3

"How did you break the curse?!"

"Is she as hot as a person as she was as a statue?"

"Akko, where did she go? Are you okay?"

"Why was it /you/ who broke the curse?"

"Yeah, I'm sure there was someone better."

"Everyone stop!"

The normally calm orange haired Lotte holds up her hands and peers at her friend through her large round glasses with worried eyes. "Akko. Are you okay?" Akko was bombarded by questions, the group of seven people crowding around her all but screaming the questions. She needed to get away. She had to get away. But the girls were around her, so close that she could smell each of their distinct perfumes before they mixed together into a new aroma. A scent Akko had to get away from. The two blue team girls were shoulder to shoulder as they leaned in closer to the Japanese girl, waiting for her to answer their queries. The green team leaned in with rapt attention. Lotte's hand was on Akko's shoulder and Sucy, being Sucy, looked at her nails feigning disinterest. Although it did put a bit of a smile on her face to see her friend in such a predicament. Akko was overwhelmed. She had blocked out the questions. She couldn't deal with being crowded. She couldn't stand the eyes on her. She couldnt be here anymore.

Her eyes scan for an opening, one finally being found between the short genius and fiery haired American. Without a word, she ducks and shoves her way through the two, taking off in a dead sprint. She could hear the girls yelling after her, but none of them made an effort to actually chase after her. Which was something she was thankful for. She was more worried about Diana and how she was handling things.

'You're such a dolt. Why didn't you follow after her?! You didn't even try to follow her! Well you did but you stood for a good five minutes just looking after her. Damn, does she have a nice ass thou- NO Akko. Stop. Stop stop stop. How did she even disappear like that?! She didn't even have a wand on her, did she? I didn't see one at least. Oh Shi- SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A WAND ON HER?!' Akko's inner musings came to a dead halt as did her legs. She didn't even know where she was. 'Gah. This college is confusing.' She looks around the Academy Grounds. She was surrounded by trees, meaning she had either run into one of the many tree groves or into one of the forests and she did not see anything familiar. She didn't hear her friends yelling after her anymore, so that had to be a good thing. Right? She got the quiet she needed.

"She didn't have her wand on her." Akko begins pacing, her feet sinking into the soil she was currently walking in. A new coat of mud having made itself home on Akko's boots. "What if she gets into trouble? What if something happens and she can't protect herself. What if she makes someone mad and they try to duel?" Akko continues to pace, alternating between the cement path she was close to and the wet soil that was still soft from the previous night's rain and the cement path that was paved throughout Luna Nova's grounds.

"You know this area is off limits, right?" Akko nearly jumps out of her own skin and turns quickly to see a purple haired girl from the violet team.

"O-Oh hi Avery! I didn't know that. I just… had to get away from people." Akko pushes her index fingers together as she looks down at the brick path she stood on, nearly grimacing at her mud covered shoes. It's gonna take a while to get that off.

"Are you being bullied again?" The violet team girl takes a step in Akko's direction, putting her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. Of course Akko was used to affection, she just hadn't felt like being touched. She shrugs the girl's hand off of her shoulder and takes a step back as she holds her hands out, "No! I was just crowded and had people coming at me from all directions. I had to get away from them."

She let's one of her hands drop to her side as she uses the other to rub the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. The taller girl nods, giving a soft smile to her rowdy acquaintance.

"Well, do you need help with anything?" Avery is sure she could see a lightbulb go off in the Japanese girls head, "Yes!" A bright smile lights her face as she looks at Avery, grabbing the girls arms near her shoulders, "That would be great!" Avery, startled, held Akko's fiery gaze.

"W-well, what would that be?" A slight blush creeps up her face as Akko pushes her face closer to the purple eyed girls. Avery wasn't used to being in such close proximity to anyone. She usually stayed to herself.

"Have you seen a girl?" Akko pulls away from Avery, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waits for an answer.

The taller witch raises her eyebrow, "Akko. We're all female's here. It is an all girls college." Avery has to hide a laugh when Akko's face pales and she lets out a groan.

"Ugh. No. A specific girl. She's about an inch or two taller than you. She has blonde hair, it actually looks kind of green in the light." She trails off and snorts a little, holding back a laugh, "A little like an unripe banana!" She shakes her head to get back on topic, "She has blue eyes. And she was wearing an old white and blue Luna Nova hat and robe." Avery puts one of her fingers to her chin and hums as she thinks. She /had/ seen a girl who matched that description heading towards the Observatory. And she had tried to go after her only to be met with a wand at her throat and a crying girl telling her to, in polite terms, go away. It had scared Avery and she never wanted to be on the end of that glare again. She shudders at the thought and memory of the glare, "Uh, actually. I-I have seen someone matching your description. She was upset though. Do you think it's wise to go after her?"

Akko does an exaggerated nod, her smile getting bigger. How was that even possible? "Do you know where she went?" She gets back into Avery's face and waits for an answer. Avery takes a step back, clearing her throat and points in the direction of the Observatory.

"She went to the tower. I don't know if she's there now…. Though." Before Avery could finish her sentence, the Asian was off like a bolt, running towards the Observatory. "God's help her. She's going to get herself hurt."

Akko was thankful she was in shape. Had any normal person run as much as she had, they'd be out of breath, sore, and probably collapsed by now. 'But not the Great Atsuko Kagari!' She smiles at her inner musings as she pushes her feet faster, hoping she finds Diana there. 'Please gods, please let her still be there.' She pushes the large doors open before she runs up the tower's stairs, spiraling upwards.

"Who thought... it was a good idea... to put stairs in a… ninety two meter... tall building? Couldn't they just…. I don't know…. Put in… an… elevator?" Akko had slowly started to become fatigued, her chest heaving as she neared the top of the tower. 'I swear if she isn't here, I'm gonna jump off the building.' Akko grits her teeth as she takes the last couple of steps, folding over and taking in deep breaths.

"Have to… apologize for… upsetting her." With those words, Akko straightens her back and catches her breath, walking to the door that leads out to the ledge of the tower. 'Please let her be here. Please let her be here. Please let her be here.' Akko's prayers were answered as she pushed open the door and blonde locks filled her view. And they were getting closer. 'Get out the way! Get out the-' _Thunk._

Akko let's out a quiet groan as she holds her head, taking a step back. She rubs the part that she had just been headbutted on, "Owieeee." Diana stands there, holding her chin, glaring down at muddy shoes. She had just started walking back, her head down as she wiped away tears and next thing she knew, the door opened and her head lifted. And her chin hit a hard surface. Didn't anyone notice when another person wanted to be alone?

Wait. Mud covered boots. Was this…? Her eyes slowly trail up past knee high boots, the skirt not stopping where it was supposed to, instead it stopped at the girls' thighs. She had a sinking suspicion now, this was the last person she wanted to see. As her eyes travel up, she glares at the robe and sloppily tied Luna Nova tie. Her eyes trail across a smooth neck and plump lips and they finally land on maroon eyes. This was Akko. Her supposed soul mate. This… this loud, brazen… What was the other word she was looking for?

Ah, this loud, brazen, _fool. _

"What do you want now?" Diana's voice was hoarse. And Akko could tell the blonde had been crying. _Akko _was the reason.

"I'm sorry." It tumbles out the asians mouth and it makes Diana's eyes widen before her glare once again takes its place on her face, a scowl turning her lips downwards.

"If that's what you wanted to say, I'm afraid I must be going." Diana begins to step forward, pushing past Akko before she feels a warm hand on her wrist preventing her from going any further. Before she could get a word out, Akko began to speak,

"No! You're gonna sit here and listen to me instead of running from your problems! Me being one of them!" Diana's face was cold as she peers at Akko, twisting her wrist from the shorter girl's grasp before crossing her arms across her chest. Her eyebrow quirks as she waits for Akko to continue. She'd let the girl say what she deemed had to be said and then she'd leave. It was a simple plan.

Akko wrings her hands together, her fingers intertwined as she thinks of what she should say. What _should _she say, 'Hey, I'm sorry that I broke your curse?' Wouldn't Diana _want _to be free? Maybe…

"I'm sorry I threw you into all this. I mean, a hundred and fifty six years is a lot.. Like… _a lot. _And… And I know that you're trying to adjust in the way you know how, some people adjust by throwing themselves around the first people they see," Like herself, "And others adjust by avoiding people and being alone."

Diana holds up a hand, stopping Akko as her glare grows colder, "Don't, not for one second, think you know me." It's a quiet growl and Akko looks down as her hands ball into fists. She was trying to apologize for gods' sakes!

"I- I wasn't assuming anything! Gods, just let me talk!" Diana jumps a little as Akko's voice rises. Not the happy tone that annoyed Diana, but an impatient and aggressive tone that makes the cursed woman shrink back, "I came here to _apologize!_ And- and you try to cut me off! Who the hell does that! I'm trying to see things from your point of view!" She takes a deep breath and Diana's eyebrows knit together as she lightly bites her bottom lip. The Asian did have a point. She _was _being rude. But she was _scared_. She didn't know anything about the new world. How much had it changed? How had the technology advanced in the one hundred and fifty six years she was gone?

"Look. Diana. I understand that you're scared. And you have no idea how things have changed. I know that your family is gone, and I can't tell you how deeply sorry I am about that," it was as if Akko had read her mind, "I mean, if I were you, I'd be scared too. I'd be pissed and horrified and I'd be tearing everything down. But I'm not you, so I can't decide what you do."

Akko's fingers were now fumbling with the hem of her robe, as if she was restraining herself from touching the blonde. And she was. She wanted to hug her and let her know it was okay. But she had a feeling Diana wouldn't want that. She was right, though. Diana didn't want to be touched, not while she was in the mental state she was in. "But I want to help you. I got you into this, and the least I can do is to help you adjust to everything." Diana's eyes soften at the shorter girls admission. It wasn't her fault. How could she have known she would be the one to break the curse? She didn't. And Diana had taken her frustrations out on the girl when all she wanted to do was help her.

"So.. I'm sorry. For… yeah." Akko trails off as she looks into the blonde's eyes, noticing that they had softened and Akko let's an awkward smile pull her lips for a second before it drops. Why wasn't she saying anything? Did Diana hate her now?

Diana let out a soft sigh, her tone noticeably less hostile,"So, what do you propose? I mean, what did you happen to have in mind?" Akko's face brightens a smile lighting her face. Diana rolls her eyes some. Of _course _she'd be smiling. 'I suppose I will have to get used to her… cheery disposition.' Diana takes a step back as Akko takes one forward, the shorter girl taking the hint that Diana liked her personal space,

"Well! How about getting you enrolled back into Luna Nova! I mean, you _did _go to school here, right? Why else would you have been put in the middle of the square?" Diana sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. That would never work. She's been gone far too long. "Aksu-" Akko raises her eyebrow as Diana again attempts to pronounce her name. She almost had it, and Akko's smile widened, if that was even possible. "It's At-su-ko." She says her name slowly, sounding it out for the taller girl. "At-..." Diana's face once again scrunched up at the weird pronunciation, "At-su-ko." The shorter girl nods with every syllable, her ruby eyes bright. "Atsiko…?" Akko lets out a quiet laugh, covering her mouth as Diana's face turns red in embarrassment as she again mispronounces the name, "Take it slow. You'll get it!"

"At-suko." The Asian again nods as she bounces on the balls of her feet. How did she have so much energy? And did it ever end? After a few more attempts, Diana finally gets the pronunciation right and Akko animatedly congratulates Diana, much to the blondes horror, a slight blush creeping up her neck.

"Atsuko," Diana sighs proud as to not have butchered the teens name once again, "How do you expect your plan to work? Luna Nova is an expensive school. It was nearly a hundred pounds a year in 1863. What… Wait… how much would that be now…?" Surely the price should have gone up with the economies inflation Akko blanches at the price, it being considerably lower back then, but back then a hundred euro was a lot of money, "W-Well… I'm here on a scholarship…" Akko scrapes the toe of her boot against the metal of the walkway's metal floor, looking down as she puts her hands behind her back. "B-but last time I checked… I-it was Twelve Thousand a year."

Diana's jaw drops, it was now her turn to be appalled. "T-Thats outrageous!" Akko furrows her brows and shrugs, "Well, I mean, its essentially the same as it was back then? The number is just higher, but the value itself is the same." Diana squints her eyes but nods, "I suppose. But, how do you expect to get me back into the school if they attempt to get money, which they probably will?" Akko only shrugs, "I don't know. What's the harm In just talking to the headmistress about it, though?"

Diana nods, her arms wrapping around themselves as she looks at her 'soulmate'. She still had many questions as to how the soulmate thing worked. She didn't believe in them. But here she was, the curse broken by the one thing she didn't believe in. Thrown into a new world with new technology.

"So… about the soulmate thing…" it was Akko who started, again seemingly reading Diana's thoughts, "I know you probably think it should be all 'kiss kiss fall in love', but I want you to know. It doesn't have to be like that. Some soulmates are destined to fall in love. But others… they're just destined to find friendship in one another, not necessarily for a-a l-lovers purpose." Akko turns red at the last part, barely stuttering it out. Sure she was open about her sexuality, she even embraced it. A pin in different shades of pink was even tacked to her book bag. But she was sure Diana had expected a Male to come to her rescue. A knight in shining armor, if you will.

"To be honest, Atsuko," Diana and Akko both smile a bit as the blonde correctly pronounces the asian girl's name, "I never believed in soulmates. And I don't believe the witch who cursed my family did either." Diana sighs as she begins walking, making her way towards the tower's stairs. The sun had begun to sink below the horizon and Diana was sure the school still had a curfew and she was also sure that said curfew would be soon, so they had to get to the headmistress' office. And soon. "Anyway, there is no harm in having a polite conversation with the headmistress." Diana had to admit, the Asian girl did have a way to make the people around her feel welcome and comfortable. The blonde shakes her head, listening as Akko hums a tune behind her, the quiet sound of their footsteps echoing through the cylinder shaped tower.

Once they reach the bottom, Akko takes the lead. Of course Diana knew where the headmistress' chambers were, but Akko seemed persistent on leading, having gone so far as to jog when Diana had attempted to walk past the brunette. Diana let a small smile tug at her lips before she forced it down, her face becoming passive once more. They walk the concrete path leading to the main building, Akko nearly skipping in her anticipation. She truly did hope that Diana would be able to attend again. Only because it would put a little normality back into the blonde's life. Not to mention, this was her apology. A gentle breeze flits through the courtyard, the trees dancing with it. Birds were letting out quiet chirps, settling down for the night and Diana finds solace in it, taking it all in with her eyes shut. In fact, she hadn't noticed that they had entered a dimly lit hallway until her eyes opened.

Candles adorning the walls. Her eyes slide over the painted walls. Nothing had seemed to change, although she could make out some vulgar language etched into the wall. Who would defile the walls like that? Her face contorts in disgust before she looks forward, watching Akko's half ponytail sway with its owner's bubbly movements. Diana again let's a small smile pull at her lips, but this time she doesn't let it down. Akko was… charming in her own way. She was rambunctious and loud. And she seemed to be the kind of person that trouble was attracted to. But she meant well and Diana admired that about her. She seemed like the kind of person that would bend over backwards to make a sad friend smile.

Diana is jerked out of her inner thoughts when she nearly collides with Akko, said girl having stopped abruptly in front of a large oak door. One Diana had seen many times before. She was honestly impressed Akko had gotten them here without getting into trouble on the way. And the look on the asians face screamed 'Wait? Nothing happened?' Diana finally let's her smile drop as Akko knocks, well more like bangs, on the headmistress's office door. It wasn't long before a short woman with pale green hair and glasses in a teacher's robe answered the door, her wrinkled face scrunching up at the sight of Akko, "Miss Kagari, why are you out at this time. It's nearly curfew."

Akko wrings her hands together, obviously at a loss for words, so Diana speaks up, "Hello. It's nice to meet your acquaintance. I'm Diana Cavendish." The older lady stops in her tracks, her mouth shutting as she was about to verbally assault Akko for being out so close to curfew, well, not literally. Headmistress Holbrooke was known for being nice, she would have asked Akko what was wrong, lightly scolded her, and then sent her on her way.

She pales and slowly backs away before nearly running to a window in her room, peering out of it, and then walking back to the door, "Well come in you two. Don't wait for the grass to grow." She ushers both of the teens in swiftly shutting the large door behind her. "Would you like some tea?" She asks both of the girls, "That would be lovely, thank you." And "Yes please!" Were both said at the same time making the old witch chuckle as she begins to prepare the tea.

"So, Miss Cavendish it's been-"

Diana cuts her off, "A hundred and fifty six years. Yes." The headmistress nods, pulling out three cups for herself and the two young women, "And Akko here?" Akko twiddle her thumbs looking anywhere but at the headmistress. She didn't know what to say, nor how to bring up the subject of re-enrollment for a one-hundred-and-seventy-five year old former student, "Akko was the one who released me from my curse."

Diana sat when the headmistress gestured to the chairs in front of her desk, her hands folded neatly in her lap. And Akko, well, Akko falls gracelessly into the chair, pulling down her skirt a little, "Miss Kagari, need I remind you of the school regulations as to your boots cleanliness and skirt length?" Akko only mutters a quick apology. She didn't like being in the headmistresses office. It usually meant her being in trouble, and here she was being lectured. Granted, she did deserve it.

"No ma'am."

It was muttered and a quiet chuckle escaped the old lady's mouth. Both Akko and Diana are handed their tea, both saying a quick thank you. The room falls into a comfortable silence as the headmistress sits down behind her desk. "Headmistress," Diana breaks the silence, "We came here to talk about enrollment for myself, seeing as I was only in my first year before, well, before I was petrified."

The old witch sips her tea, nodding before she sets the cup down on a plate, "I had already assumed that to be the case, Miss Cavendish. And you're in luck, apparently your parents had thought this all out for you." She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose before she opens a desk drawer. After a few minutes of riffling about and quiet cursing coming from the old lady, "Where in the-" "by the nines" and others were quietly mumbled, "I knew I had it- Aha!" Finally, the witch found what she was looking for and pulled out a thick folder before placing it on the desk with a quiet thud. "You were quite the case, Miss Cavendish. Your parents all but bribed the school to let you resume your studies once your curse had been lifted. In fact, they over shot what was needed by a long run, they even asked us to quadruple your allowance. They had high hopes that you would be freed, and, well, here you are!"

Akko, who had been drinking her tea, nearly spit it out at the word 'quadruple'. How loaded was this girl?! She coughs, catching the attention of her soulmate and the headmistress.

"They also requested that you remain in the same team you had previously been in." Ms. Holbrooke smiles as she again reaches into her desk, pulling out multiple fresh uniforms along with blue belts, sashes, and a hat with a blue band on it. And Akko briefly wonders 'How deep is that drawer?'.

The old witch presses a button on her desk and soon a goblin comes through the large oak doors, slouching low to the ground, "Can you please fetch Ms. English and Ms. Parker for me? They need to meet their new team mate. As well as show her around." The goblin nods and then quickly leaves, no doubt fetching who she asked.

"See, Diana! I told you everything would work out!" A bright smile lit Akko's face as she looks towards the blonde, both having already finished their tea.

"It was a dumb stroke of luck. My parents could have easily neglected and forgot about me." She had doubted that, "But they could have also not thought about me continuing my education here at Luna Nova." Akko only playfully rolls her eyes, "But look on the bright side! They didn't and you _do _get to continue your education!"

Akko doesn't hear the oak door open once more and two voices make her jump, "AKKO?!"

"N-Nani?!"


	4. Chapter 4

"N-Nani!"

Akko nearly jumps out of her seat, her native language coming to the tip of her tongue before she all but clamps her mouth shut. The teen looks back, a sheepish smile plastering itself on her face. It's not that she didn't like the two girls standing at the door, it had softly closed behind them, but she wasn't fond of them either. They usually made her the brunt of their jokes. Well, all of her friends did that. But Akko knew that Amanda or Sucy meant their jabs at her in a teasing manner.

No, the other two girls who were standing in front of her did it to make her feel bad. To fuel their own ego's and to make Akko feel inferior compared to them. And it worked. Sometimes. Others, Akko would ignore them or her friends would jinx them for her.

"Ah, Miss Parker. Miss England. I'm so glad you could join us." Headmistress Holbrooke let's a warm smile light her face as she stands, walking towards Hannah and Barbra, both girls still tense at seeing Akko. She still hadn't answered their questions. How had Akko, of all people, managed to break a curse that nearly every witch at the academy has tried to break. for over a century! And yet, this girl from a non magical family, who somehow got into Luna Nova on a scholarship, of all things, just waltzes in and breaks the curse. A girl, who might they add, couldn't cast spells or ride a broom. Something doesn't add up. Why Luna Nova let the poor excuse for a girl attend was beyond them.

Both Hannah and Barbara are pulled out of their seemingly joined inner musings as the headmistress puts her hands on their shoulders, smiling up warmly at the two. "I'd like to introduce you to your new team mate."

New team mate? But... the blue team has only had two team members for over a hundred and fifty years. The only team to have two members. Why their dorm held three beds, they would never know. Hannah and Barbara even had a petition done to get rid of the bed so they could make a little sitting area. It was revoked, surprisingly. But still, why have three beds when there's only two people in the room.

The headmistress moves out of the way, although it wasn't doing much seeing as both girls could easily see over the short stature woman's head and points towards the blonde. Diana was sitting in the chair, poised with her hands folded in her lap over her new uniform.

The headmistress clears her throat before walking towards the blonde, her hands being placed on Diana's shoulders. The heiress only looks over her shoulder at the two before looking back at Akko, noticing the Asian gritting her teeth in the presence of her two bullies. "Hi Hannah. Barbara." Akko mutters out, trying her hardest to make herself smaller in her seat. It had become a habit around them, not because they hurt her physically, but their taunts and words cut Akko like a knife. Every time Akko said something, one of the two seemed to have a retort.

"I would like you two to meet your new room mate. I'm sorry for her to be starting so late in the year, but this is Diana Cavendish. She will be starting Monday. I know the name is familiar. I'm sure you two have seen the statu-" before the headmistress could finish her sentence, Hannah and Barbara all but ran to Diana, pushing Akko's chair out of the way and nearly toppling the shorter teen. "Ah!" Akko attempts to stable herself in the chair, focusing on not falling backwards. She already had one accident today, she didn't need another.

"Oh my gosh!" And "You're so pretty!" Are out of Barbara's and Hannah's mouth at the same time as they crowd around the Cavendish, said girl leaning back some at her... enthusiastic team members. "It's nice to meet your acquaintance, I hope for us to get along." The other two ramble, Akko tuning it out as she looks anywhere but the three other girls in the room. Eventually she speaks up, "Hey, Diana."

She's met with two angry stares, a questioning one, and a passing one from the head mistress. "Uh, since you don't start until Monday," this was her chance to possibly get closer and be a friend towards the Cavendish, "I was wondering if you wanted me to show you around the school tomorrow. A few things have changed since youv-"

A quick and resounding "No!" Comes from both of Diana's team mates, making Akko jump in her chair. Why couldn't these two leave her alone? She just wanted to help Diana. She had caused this. And she wanted to make it right. But it seemed like every step she took to correct that wrong, she took two steps back as well because someone had to fight against her. "Hannah and I are more capable than you are at showing Diana around. Hannah, let's go to our room to get Diana settled." The black haired girl states this matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips as Hannah helps Diana up. All three of them walk towards the door, Diana not having said much in protest. That is, until they closed the door, Akko gawking as it closed.

"That wasn't very nice of you two." The heiress pulls her clothes up to her chest, making sure they're secure as to not let them fall, "Akko just wanted to help. She's quite nice."

Hannah and Barbara look at Diana before looking at each other. Quite fills the hall before they both start laughing, shaking their heads. Soon the two girls stop, the laughing calming to giggles and then to nothing as they look at Diana, "Oh," Barbara starts, and Hannah finishes, "You were being serious."

Both girls sigh as Diana gives them a wary look, "You don't want to get involved with her." Barbara places her hand on Diana's shoulder before letting it drop back to her side when Diana glares at the hand. Hannah speaks up, looking forward, "She's constantly in trouble. You know, she's been to the headmistress's office six times already. And that was just this week." Diana's eyebrows furrow. Surely that wasn't right. Yes, Akko was, for lack of better words, rambunctious. And maybe that got her into trouble, but she didn't seem like the type to actively cause trouble. "She's a walking disaster magnet." Barbara chimes, a quiet laugh coming from her and her friend. "She blew up half of the classroom on the first day."

Diana bites her lip before quickly catching the action and stops. It was something her mother told her never to do. But she had a bad habit with it when she was in deep thought. Maybe Akko was a troublemaker, it seemed like it. Not to mention her outfit went against the school rules, disastrously so. Her boots were muddy, her skirt was... way too high, and food was all over the white blouse. But that didn't say anything about character. Well, it did. But still...

"We just don't want you to get caught up in the trouble it brings you, she'll drag you down, Diana." Barbara again places her hand on the girl's shoulder, smiling a little when Diana nods instead of glaring at the offending appendage.

"Akko! We're going to be late!"

Lotte stood in front of the sleeping brunette, poking her. _'Dangit. She sleeps like the dead.' _She pokes Akko again, only getting her hand swatted away like a fly. "You know," Sucy gives a wide, sharp toothed grin as she looks towards Akko. Her mouth was hanging open, some drool sliding down her cheek. "This would be perfect to try out that potion for Lukić's class." She opens a drawer in the desk and pulls out a funnel and a vial filled with a light blue substance. Sucy cackles quietly as she walks towards Akko's sleeping form and puts the funnel in the girl's mouth.

"Sucy…" Lotte says quietly, looking at Akko with a worried look, "Are you sure this is a good-" the contents of the vial are poured into the funnel, "Idea…" the word leaves Lotte's lips right as Akko shoots up, sputtering and coughing, the funnel falling into her lap. Her tongue sticks out as she tries to wipe away the potion.

"Hey Akko," Sucy had a pen and pad out, waiting for said girl to notice her, "Can you ride a broom?" Akko jumps up. The Funnel falls to the floor and the plastic clattering against the wooden floor. Her hands were on her hips as she looked at her friends, "What are you talking about?! Of course I can ride a broom! I'm the best witch ever!"

Sucy gives her friend a blank look "Well, that truth potion didn't work." She starts to write something down, mumbling what she was writing. "Ineffective. Induces hysterical behavior, illusions, and hallucinations."

Akko let out a whine, "Succccyyyyy." Making the poison expert smirk and Lotte let out a quiet giggle, "Come on Akko, we have 5 minutes to leave for breakfast." Akko perks up at that as Sucy puts the journal in a pocket on her robe, walking to stand beside Lotte. "Better hurry before all the chocolate muffins are gone."

That gets her attention. "It's Muffin Monday! I forgot!" Akko nearly runs to the dresser and grabs a clean uniform and her boots, still dirty, before darting into the bathroom. She's out in three minutes, her boots on and her skirt and shirt wrinkled, but on her. If it weren't for the vest and tucked in shirt, you'd be able to notice a few missed buttons. "Akko. Your tie." Lotte points at Akko's collar, the tie untied and draped around her neck, half in her collar and tucked and the other half draped over her vest. "It can wait. Muffins can't!" She grabs both of her friends by the wrists and pulls them out of the dorm.

"She's pouting."

Sucy and Lotte sit at the table that Akko had all but dropped into, her arms crossed against her chest, "It's not faaaiiiirr." The Asian whines, looking at her bran muffin, poking it as if it would grow teeth and bite her, wincing as her stomach protests even the thought of the muffin. "Amanda got the last chocolate one."

A loud laugh comes from the other side of the table while Amanda bites into said chocolate muffin, "Damn right I did! Ya snooze ya lose, Kagari." The green and red team member had both easily become friends in the short time they had attended the school. Amanda had pranked Akko using magic. And while Akko knew she couldn't use magic in that way, pranked her the good old fashioned way. A door frame and a water bucket. The American was livid for all of a minute before she laughed along with Akko, using the words 'Not bad, Kagari. Not bad.'

"If you had woken up the first time I tried to wake you up, you would have gotten the chocolate muffin. Sucy had to pour that potion down your throat to wake you up." Lotte gives Sucy a side glance to see said girl with a wide grin.

"What are the side effects exactly?" The pink haired witch only shrugs, taking a bite of her muffin, "An upset stomach at most."

As if to punctuate her point, Akko groans and holds her stomach, banging her head on the table. "If you eat that muffin, you'll feel better. Food will help." Sucy adds, taking another bite of her breakfast, looking around the room. Multiple eyes were on her teammate and Sucy rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather starve." Akko grunts, pushing her muffin away and letting out another loud groan, her arms attempting to wrap tighter around her stomach. "If you don't eat it, I'll shove it down your throat." Sucy says in a monotone voice. Akko let's out a quiet 'eep' as she shoves the entire muffin in her mouth, pointing towards her puffed cheeks, "'M eadin she." She attempts to say through the food, chewing quickly. She did not like bran muffins. She soon swallows, nearly choking on the large wad of food, quickly drinking her orange juice to help the dry muffin go down. "See Akko, it wasn't so bad, was it?" Lotte asks as she takes a sip of her own juice, giving her friend a small smile.

A loud whistle pierces the table making Akko jump, "Damn. Who's the hot blonde?" Amanda asks, her eyes trained to someone at the door. Akko turns around her eyes briefly meeting Diana's before the heiress averts her attention to the muffins on the buffet table, picking up one and a bottle of juice before she follows Hannah and Barbara to a table in the corner.

"That's Diana Cavendish." Sucy says, bringing Akko's attention back to her friends' conversation, bringing her juice back to her lips to gulp it down. "Wait! That's the statue?" Amanda's jaw nearly drops before she replaces it with a smirk, "Nice going Kagari. You finally landed a hot one. Have y'all banged yet?" That. That makes Akko choke, sputtering and wiping her mouth as orange juice goes all over the table. "Scratch that. Of course y'all haven't. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb probably has miss priss on a short leash." Amanda points to Hannah and Barbara, both girls glaring at her when they realize she's pointing at them.

Akko's face was burning as her hands covered it. "Gods, just strike me down now." She mumbles, shrinking in her chair.

"Who's that?" Diana asks, her eyes following where her roommates were glaring, her eyes landing on an orange haired female who was busy pointing at their table. "That. That thing is Amanda O'Neill. Stay away from her. If you think Akko is bad, Amanda is worse. She has no regard for the rules, has been threatened with expulsion four times this year, and she's a total bi-."

"Hannah!" Barbara reprimands her friend, clamping her hand over the red haired girl's mouth. Hannah grounds her teeth before taking a bite of her breakfast, eyes tearing from the insufferable American as she focuses on her friends, "Her and Akko are best friends."

An 'o' shape forms as Diana looks at the table her Soulmate was sitting out. It was a… mismatched group, that's for sure. A short girl with goggles was sitting at the very end, away from her friends as she tinkered with… something, Diana didn't know what, and she didn't care. Amanda had ended up switching seats with a shorter orange haired girl, opting to sit beside such while Amanda sat beside Akko.

The American slung her arm around Akko, laughing as the Asian girl flushes and again hides her face. "What do you think they're talking about?" Diana asks, her eyebrows furrowing when not even three seconds later, Akko bursts out laughing, her fist banging on the table. She perks up when Amanda whispers something in her ear and Akko's eyes flick towards Diana, a small wave being sent her way. Diana only looks away, not waving back.

"Why should we care. Just stay as far away from that band of misfits as you can." Barbara says, pushing her empty plate away, her empty bottle of water on top of it. A goblin walks by, picking up the empty plates and trash not long after, taking them back to the kitchen to be cleaned and disposed respectively.

"Well…" Diana says, her eyes flicking towards her soulmate then back to her friends when she realizes Akko was still looking at her. "What happens after the breakfast hour?" Diana asks. When she had gone to Luna Nova, they had an hour between breakfast and their first class. A break to help digest their food. The same between their lunch and last period of the day. A two hour break if you were to choose to forgo your eating break. "We get an hour free period between. It's always been like that, so I've heard." Barbara picks at her nails as she says it and Diana only nods, her question being answered.

"So, what did you used to do during your free periods?" Hannah asks, her eyes alight with curiosity. She wanted to know more about the famed Cavendish. Recently, the name was in decline. But it was still well known and well renowned.

"I would study, of course. That's what those times were designated for, so I took full advantage of the time I was given." Hannah and Barbara gawk at Diana, the blonde raising one of her eyebrows, "You're so awesome."

Diana looks at the two, a look of 'what?' Coming across her face. They had asked a question. And she had simply answered. It was quite a plain answer if you asked her, but apparently it was astonishing for them. She coughs, clearing her throat as her face heats up at the praise. It wasn't deserved, "I suppose so?" It came out as more a question before her eyes were drawn towards a loud conversation at the doors of the cafeteria.

"Yo Kagari! I'm gonna beat your ass in this race!" Amanda yells, a wide, cocky smile plastered on her face. "You might have won last time bu-" Akko interrupts the feisty American a smile of her own taking over her face, "If you haven't beat me on foot yet, you never will, O'Neill! I've beat you three times!" With that, the Asian runs out of the cafeteria, nearly knocking over some people who were leaving, Amanda following suit behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay, A plot hole i fixed was the timing. If you made it this far through the reread, you'd notice that. Considering that Akko's birthday is at the end of june, i royally screwed up the timins as thats when schools are usually getting out for break, so I have it set here that break begins on the first of July and it ends on the 15th of september. SO YAY, MAJOR PLOT HOLES THAT WERE FIXED (Im so glad i decided to read through and say 'what the fuck was i doing') Anywho, Enjoy the chapter. Fluff and Hijinx ensures for this long... long awaited chapter.**_

**July 5, 2019**

Diana preferred to spend her time alone. It had usually been during the nights when the patrols weren't out and about, roaming the halls for students who were out past curfew. Although, she was usually the one who was patrolling the halls at that ungodly hour. But when it wasn't her turn (or whenever the teachers voluntold her for the position), she preferred to spend the nights on the observatory tower. The nights she snuck out were few and far between, but she quite liked the quiet of the campus as the later hours approached. It was different than during the day. It was calm, much unlike the day when the hussle and bussle of classes made students all but run for their rooms so as to not be told off by the teachers and get into trouble. But now it was different.

Now everything was different. The walkway that once was cobblestone, is now a grey brick, something she didn't understand. Cobblestone was much more pleasing to the eye. Not to mention, before she had awakened, there had been multiple statues that lined the walkways. Each a new witch, each having contributed something significant to the world of magic. One of her great grandmothers had been one of the statues there. She had walked by it every day to class, or sat by it during lunch or her free periods to eat or study in the presence of one of her ancestors. It made her feel closer to home. And now that it's no longer there, she doesn't have that same comfort she did when she first attended.

She preferred to spend her time alone. So here she was. At an ungodly hour of the night, sitting on the observatory tower with her legs dangling off the ledge, the slight breeze blowing her blonde locks lightly as it passes by. Gods, this sounded like some sort of romance novel. If anyone would have asked her in 1863 which part of day was her favorite, she would have said afternoon. It was warmer and it always left a pleasant feeling in her when she would simply bask in the sun during her days off, or ride one of her horses around the field of her estate. But now, she's more inclined to say night. At night, no one bothers you. You can be alone, you can let yourself be free of the stress of the day, and you can relax without having to worry about others constantly breathing down your neck, wanting you to be something you're not. You can be yourself without the fear of prying eyes picking you apart like a hoard of vultures.

She liked the night. It was quiet. Serene and if you looked up at the sky, you could pick out all the constellations if you were diligent enough and had an observant eye. That's what Diana was doing now. Picking out the constellations she could see in the summer night. It had only been a few weeks since she was freed from her prison, but to her, it already seems like a lifetime. Though, the time she spent preserved in stone only seemed to last a few moments. She was in her room, and she felt an odd tingling sensation, she knew it had to be the curse. One she had been told about from adolescence, one that said she wouldn't live to see it to twenty unless she was to touch the one her soul was bound to. Then, she watched as her hand was turned to stone. The one that was holding a textbook. She had let the book drop to the floor before she curled her arm to her chest. Her body had become sluggish and she couldn't mover, in her last seconds, she embraced the fact that she was to be encapsulated in time. Turned to stone so that she would no longer live.

And here she was. Living. Breathing. Cursing herself for being here. Sure it could be seen as a gift, but she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be home. With her horses and her mother and father, and dare she say it, Andrew. He was her best friend during that trying time and he helped her get through most of her problems by just being there for her. He was her closest friend. She just wanted to be home. Not in this foreign place. Not where she can't even walk right. Or even understand what half of the people were saying with the new way english was spoken. What even was 'lit' anyway?

She was thankful it was summer. Most of the student's had traveled home for the break for the upcoming school year. One that she would be starting soon as well. But those who wished to stay on campus, could. Those who didn't have an actual home to return to, or a family they didn't wish to be around. They could stay under the protection of the school and further their studies or get a jump on their schoolwork if they so wished. Or even just lounge about their dorms. A few people stayed during the break. More than Diana could keep track of. Her room mates, however, both returned to their homes to visit their family and sleep in their own beds and rooms. A luxury that Diana no longer had.

She hadn't heard anything from her 'family'. And she didn't expect to. A letter was sent on the day of her resurrection, and there still came no word from her relatives. Not tears of joy or even a letter to recognise that she was now alive. Nothing. And it was disheartening. She knew that the Cavendish name was still known, though less than when she was first around. But she would hear her roommates speak of it all the time. It was probably to help her feel better to know that she still had a living branch of the family tree, but all it did was push her farther down into despair. If they were still active, how come no one had sent for her. Why hadn't they even acknowledged her existence. Why didn't they care about her?

A door creaks behind her and Diana is pulled out of her thoughts as she hears a familiar squeak with the door shutting. She doesn't even have to look behind her to know who it was, though, the warm feeling on her cheeks make themselves known before she wipes the offending tears away with the sleeve of her cloak, "It's fine, Atsuko. You can come out."Diana's voice is quiet as she looks behind her and she watches the heavy door open again, seeing the asian girl. She wasn't wearing her uniform, as it wasn't mandatory while on break. Instead, she wore an orange top with a four point star, black shorts and green sandals. It was… atrocious to say the least. She seriously had no sense of style.

Though. That was Akko. Stupid, loud-mouthed, no-sense-of-style, Akko. It was endearing, actually..

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone was here." Akko steps out of the way of the door, holding a broomstick in her hand as she walks over to where Diana was sitting, plopping down beside her. "How's your break going so far?" Akko's voice is quiet, no doubt trying to not catch the patrolling witches or workers' attention (though there were none considering it was break and they were pretty lax about the curfew, but Diana doesn't think Akko knows that).

A quiet sigh escapes into the warm July night as Diana looks over at crimson eyes, shaking her head, "If i'm being honest," Diana twiddles with the hem of her robes, (Something she was told not to do as a child), "My break is going dreadfully. I don't exactly have a home to return to." She looks out over the campus, her eyes shining in the moonlight as she looks up at the sky. Anything to not notice the pitying look that Akko was giving her. She didn't like pity. She didn't like it when people gave her those sad looks as if they knew what she was going through. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Akko's voice was quiet as she responded, playing with the bristles of the broom as she looked down, toying with the hay. What else was she supposed to say after hearing that someone basically didn't have a family or even a house to go to. How was she supposed to help when she had never even been in this situation before. Her family gave her nothing but love, and when she came out to them as a lesbian, nothing but acceptance.

"You might not have family, well actual family," She grimaces when she hears Diana take a sharp breath. She was never good at helping people with their feelings, hell, she was never good with her own feelings, "Sorry, Bad choice of words." She shakes her head as she tries to think and pick and choose her next words so she wouldn't send her soulmate into a rage or into another fit of crying, "You may not have blood family, but you do have family at Luna Nova. People who actually want to be around you."

"Only because I'm Diana Cavendish." It's quiet, but Akko hears the bitterness in Diana's words, and it hits her before she sighs.

"If I'm being honest," Akko picks a piece of straw out from the broom and rolls it between her fingers, trying and racking her brain to find words of comfort, "I didn't even know Who you were when I touched the statue. I just touched it because someone who i looked up to took a picture with you when you were still… ya know, in stone? Heh, that rhymend." Akko shakes her head before she continues talking, "But, your name has nothing to do with me wanting to be your friend. And you being my 'soulmate' has nothing to do with it either. You actually seem nice and I would actually like to get to know you you allowed it." Akko's face heats up as she speaks, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. Why did she have to let the words spew like that? She was just trying to comfort Diana 'cause she noticed she was sad. Not word vomit everywhere and possibly make it worse.

A quiet chuckle sounds from beside her and Akko looks over at Diana to see a small smile making its way onto the blonde's face. Akko wants to jump in joy and pound her fist in the air all while chanting 'I got her to smile!"

"I appreciate your words Akko, thank you." Diana keeps her voice quiet as she looks over at the brunette and her eyes travel down towards the broom that was lying idle in Akko's lap. "I see that you were trying to do a bit of training?" Her eyebrow raises as Akko's face again heats up.

"Uh, yeah. I'm trying to hone my flying skills over the summer so no one can say i can't ride a broom anymore. It's a little stupid actually, but. You can't be the best witch when you can barely fly a broom!" Akko let's out an awkward chuckle as she rubs the back of her neck and Diana raises her eyebrow and shakes her head a little.

"If the rumours of you prove true, I take it you don't know how to ride a broom?" Diana lets a sly smirk cross her face, effectively forgetting about her earlier turmoil, more in favour of teasing the bubbly brunette. Akko was… Nice, she didn't understand why her friends had warned her a week before they left for break that she was a troublemaker.

"I do too know how to ride a broom! And i'll show you," Before Diana could say anything, Akko's standing with the broom between her legs, and Diana stands as well, her eyes wide as Akko yells out "Tia Freyre!" And she's Jumping off the edge of the observatory. Her eyes go wide when instead of flying gracefully through the air like she had planned, she begins to fall gracelessly towards the ground, her broom falling beside her.

"Akko!" Diana yells out when the crimson eyes females let out a shrill shriek. Diana hits the edge of the ledge, her arms barely catching the younger witch by the wrist to keep her from plummeting to her death, "Are you daft! What if I hadn't been here to catch you?!" Diana attempts to pull the smaller girl up, grunting slightly at the effort. How was someone this small this heavy? How much muscle was she packing?

"Well I didn't expect to fall if that's what you were asking!" Akko yells back as she dangles three hundred meters above the ground, her free hand reaching up to grab the ledge and relieve some of the pain from her screaming shoulder. How do they do this in the movies? She's almost positive that her shoulder is dislocated.

Diana is finally able to find some bearing, enough to pull Akko up over the ledge where she promptly lets the younger witch's wrist go. "God's Akko you nearly gave me a coronary occlusion!" Akko looks at Diana with a look almost saying 'what the fuck is that' before Diana corrects herself, "A heart attack, Akko. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Akko sits up, rubbing her shoulder with a wince. Oh yeah. Definitely dislocated. And it was throbbing. Oh gods, it was throbbing and she was in pain. She's just going to curl into a ball now. It's fine. She's fine (she was not fine).

"A-Akko. Are you alright?" Diana sits beside Akko when the brunette curls into a ball, holding her shoulder. Akko then gives a weak thumbs up with her uninjured arm with a groan. "I think you dislocated my shoulde-" She moves her injured arm some with a wince and a groan of pain, "Nope. No, you definitely dislocated my shoulder." her voice came out in a higher, pain laced tone as she lets another groan.

"Well, we can just set it, it's a lot better than you being dead" Diana says with a matter-of-fact tone before she carefully urges Akko to sit up. "Come on now, it'll only hurt for a second." Diana gets into a kneeling position with Akko's Injured arm carefully in both her hands, "When I say three, I want you to take a deep breath, Okay?" Diana speaks in a soft tone and waits for Akko to give a nod of agreement. When she does Diana takes a deep breath, "Alright. One. Two. Three" When she hears Akko take a deep breath, she sharply pushes the bone back into its socket with a sickening 'Pop' before akko lets out yet another groan. Both mixed in pain and relief.

"God's Akko. You really need to start being more careful." Diana says as she leans back with a sigh, pushing her blonde locks out of her face, "Were I not here to catch you, Who know's what would have happened."

Akko stays quiet for a second before she looks over at her soulmate, "I'm sorry i worried you. I honestly expected to fly." She rubs the back of her neck with her now relocated arm, wincing some. Ah, right. Those need to heal too. And the smile was back, "But nothing can stop me from achieving my dreams!"

"Except for death."

"Except for death!"


	6. Chapter 6

July 19 (Approximately 2 weeks since Akko Dislocated her shoulder)

"This blows." Amanda is hanging off her bunk in the green team room, her arms hanging out above her as she tries to think of something to do. The summer had been boring and, as she said, it blew. She had nothing to do, her room-mates were hardly around (even though they both stayed back for the break). Cons constantly stayed in her little workshop, if little could describe the huge place she built literally under the school. Honestly, how had the faculty not picked up on that fact? Did they just overlook it? Unlikely, the old hags were too strict. Maybe she just kept it really well hidden.

Jasminka was always raiding the kitchen or sitting in the courtyard, you guessed it, eating. 'I mean,' Amanda sighs as she sits up, thinking to herself, 'I get that she has that thing and all that always makes her hungry, but would it kill her to stay away from the kitchen and hang out with me for like, five minutes?'

'I guess I could hang out with Akko. But her and… what was her name? Diane? Diana? Diana sounds about right... Her and Diana have all but been glued to the hip.' Amanda scratches her head as she stands, stretching her back out as she walks to the door. And.. she doesn't have to get far. Akko, who she was literally about to go find, all but barges through the door. "Dude. There's a thing called knocking. " Akko was out of breath, sweaty and, "Dude, you reek go take a-" Amanda is cut off.

"I need your help." Akko was hunched over, her hands on her knees as she took a few deep breaths. Then, she's up straight again, her breathing back to normal. If she was in an anime, Amanda would be in the chibi form with the large sweat drip. You know the one. Maybe, just maybe, if she stayed very still, Akko wouldn't go into a rant.

She was wrong. So, so wrong.

With a deep breath, Akko spits out rapid fire, "I want to take Diana out to the city today, but i'm not sure how she'd react, so I need someone to go with us, that way she isn't completely overwhelmed and we can keep her from freaking out. And since you, you know, know the city a lot better than I do, I thought you could be our unofficial official tour guide." The sentence, no, paragraph, was out of Akko's mouth in a whopping 9 seconds. Amanda counted. Seriously, how could this chick talk so fast? Wait… What did she just say?

"Can you say that again.. But like, slower? Did you just voluntell me to do something?" Amanda's eyebrow raises. Honestly, where does this short shit get off telling her what to do? Amanda had better things to do than to lead a pompous princess around a town… well, she didn't. But still. No one tells her what to do. She's sure she could get Cons to come out of her sanctuary for a little. Hang out for a bit… But that would only last about thirty minutes.

"I'll pay for your breakfast AND Lunch." Akko says. Her eyes were pleading and Amanda could tell that this meant some small amount to the shorter woman. The orange haired witch sighs as she looks towards a calendar on the wall. She never used it, she just went with the flow. It was really just there for decoration.

"Okay… Okay! Fine, but, you'll still owe me. I don't know when I'll cash in the favor, but you'll still owe me." Akko bows, something Amanda never got used to. It's part of her culture, but damn.

"Hai! Thank you Amanda! I'll go tell Diana the good news." And just like that, it's over. Akko sprints out the room and down the hall, all but yelling at the top of her lungs. She's loud. Why is she so loud? Still, it isn't the most horrible thing, Amanda could be loud as well. At times.. Well, if 'Times' meant all the time, yeah. At times. All Amanda can do is just nod her head. How does she always allow herself to be roped into Akko's Ideas? Well, At least this one isn't the worst one. That would probably be the time when they both decided to prank Finnelan. The old hag had slime coming out of her ears for a week. It was definitely worth the one month of washing clothes for the student body.

She pulls herself out of her thought process, yelling down the Hall, "Oi! And go take a shower, you smell like shit!" She's pretty sure Akko didn't hear her.

* * *

"Atsuko, slow down, please. You've said more than five words in a language I do not speak." They were standing in the middle of Diana's room, beside the coffee table. Akko had all but barged into the room and the blonde had let out an, 'Honestly, Akko, do you have no manners. You could at least knock.' to which Akko had responded verbatim, "Amanda said that earlier too!... Maybe I should start knocking..'

Diana was both concerned for the other witch's lungs, and quite amazed at how much the shorter girl could say in such a short amount of time. Akko's eyes were bright and lively, and Diana had a small smile on her face. If she was being honest, Diana found the younger woman's enthusiasm to be rather cute, but in a puppy sort of way. If Akko were a puppy, Diana was sure her tail would be wagging a mile a minute.

"AH, sorry." Akko made sure to speak a little slower and gave Diana a quick bow. 'Cute.' Diana muses internally. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out on the town with me and Amanda. I'd really appreciate it, and I knew that you would maybe appreciate it, too. But! It's completely fine if you don't. And if you get uncomfortable just tell me, and we'll leave right away! I know you've been stuck in your room and the library for these past couple of weeks, and I thought it'd be nice to relax."

Diana allows a small smile to grace her face as she looks towards the younger woman. It would be nice to get out, if only for a couple hours. Not to mention, Akko is looking at her with those pleading eyes she knows will work on Diana. Honestly, she's only been out a month and this girl has made her grow soft. "I appreciate the offer Akko. I guess it wouldn't be too bad to get out. Besides, I have a feeling that if I said no, you'd somehow find a way to wear me thin and cave."

She'd been doing so much studying on all the new forms of technology Akko helped her a lot when it came to terms and newer inventions, telephones still confused her. (How can something so small connect the world?) at some point she'd have to see them first hand for herself. She'd even asked Akko a couple times to see her cell phone, only to drop it when it made a sudden sound or… what was the word… Vibrated? One time it had left a crack in the screen and Diana had apologized profusely.

Akko lights up more (if that's even possible, she was a literal ray of sunshine), and all but grabs Diana in a tight hug, making the blonde stiffen slightly at the sudden affection before she awkwardly pats the brunettes back. "Arigatou, Diana!" Akko pulls back almost as fast as she pulled Diana in and holds her at arm's length. "If you start feeling Uncomfortable, let me know and we'll leave Immediately!"

Diana only gives a nod as she holds down a small smile.

Akko was so considerate. Always making sure Diana was adapting to the new times easy enough. Barbara and Hannah were really wrong about Akko. She was sweet and considerate. Sure, she was loud… really, really obnoxiously so. But that was a quirk. And she did get in trouble a lot… But from the stories she's heard from Akko (and there were a lot of them), she only got in trouble when she was trying to help others or trying to better herself. No one gave her credit for trying.

"So," Diana begins as she pushes a lock of blonde hair out of her face, "Shall we get going? It's nearing Noon, now. So I suppose we should, how do you say, 'get a move on'?" Akko stifles a giggle and Diana can feel a flush of embarrassment creeping up her neck. Did she not say it right? She believes she's getting a 'hang' of the newer slang. Although Akko insists she sounds like a grandmother when she tries to use it. One time she had tried to unironically say 'Lit'. Which had left Akko in a fit of giggles and gasping between them begging her to say it again. Which Diana did. She liked making the younger witch giggle, how her eyes crinkled at the corners and the little blush when her face flushed with the laughter.

Diana shakes her head of the intrusive thoughts as Akko comes down from her small bout, a smile gracing her own lips. "Let's go!" Akko all but yells as she begins to pull Diana towards the Blue Team's door. "A-Akko, wait! I need to grab my things first!"

* * *

"So," Amanda had jogged to catch up with Akko and Diana. They had Just gotten out the lay-line and it seemed that Diana was an exceptional flier. Although, everyone is damn good compared to Akko. The group of three were walking up to the town and Amanda continues, her voice a bit lower, "What's up with you and the Blondie behind us?"

Akko sends a slight glare to the other witch, rolling her eyes some, "It's Diana, And we're just friends. I'm trying to get her Used to new technology. We've been studying it in the library and I thought it was about time for her to see it for herself." Akko looks back at Diana. The blonde would tense every now and then when a car would pass them in the city. Of course, a car was the first thing Akko had introduced Diana to (along with the cell phone, which, bad idea on her part RIGHT after Diana had been freed.)

Akko hangs back a little, letting Diana catch up to her. She places a hand on the blonde's arm, not missing the way she tenses up, "Are you okay?" Akko asks quietly, letting her hand fall. She was serious when she said that if the blonde had felt overwhelmed or uncomfortable they'd turn right around and head home. She was worried about Diana. She didn't know how she'd react to the sudden change.

"I assure you, Akko. I'm doing fine. It's just a little bit of sudden noises. Nothing I can not handle." As soon as Diana says that, a car speeds by. The blonde all but jumps out of her skin and clings to Akko's arm. The shorter woman's face heats up at the contact before she wraps her body around Diana's in a hug before she softly rubs her back. "Hey, It's Okay. I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you while we're out." Her voice is soft and it even surprises her. Diana holds onto the front of Akko's robes before she nods her head and takes a deep breath. Okay, maybe it was a bad Idea to take her out in the middle of the day when everyone was more active.

Amanda finally steps up, trying to dispel the tension, "Alright! As your unofficial official tour guide, I know a small place that hasn't really advanced much in the way of technology, so I think that would be a good way to start." Honestly, It sucked watching someone struggle like Diana was, and Amanda did have a heart, as much as she likes to protest it.

Both Akko and Diana nod as Amanda begins to make her way through seemingly random alleyways, making both of the other girls question if she actually did know where they were going. Small conversation was exchanged between Akko and Diana as they walked through the dank allies. "Are you sure you're okay? We really can turn back if it's too much."

A small chuckle and Amanda dare not look back to see the sickeningly sweet smile on Diana's face, "yes, Atsuko. I assure you, I'm quite alright."

There had to be something going on between those two. There was no way they were 'just friends'.

It only took them not hearing cars and About ten minutes worth of walking through back alleyways before Akko breaks her worrying for Diana to finally speak, "Are you sure you know where you're going Amanda. I think we've passed the broken brick about three times."

"Yes. I know where I'm going, Akko. I've been here multiple times, so shush." As soon as she finishes her statement as she pulls out her want. They didn't get magic out here, so what her tool had reserved was all they had. A couple quiet words and a waive of her wand had the bricks of an old building turning out and opening for the three witches.

Akko's face held wonder, Amanda's smugness, and Diana's almost… recollection.


End file.
